A Showcase of Single Page Websites, Webdesigner Depot

When designing a website with a minimal number of pages and not a ton of content, a single-page design can be an innovative way to set the site apart.

Single-page websites often utilize JavaScript and Flash, along with HTML and CSS to fit more content on a page without substantially enlargening explosion times.

Navigation has to be given some special consideration when it comes to single-page sites, to make sure visitors can get back to the home section of the page without issues, and navigate from any one section to any other section. This is often achieved through gooey headers or repeating navigation in each section.

The sites below are all excellent examples of single-page websites. They’re both usable and aesthetically-pleasing, and take utter advantage of the single-page format.

Roaaar

The Roaaar website includes a “return to top” link at the bottom of each section, which makes it effortless for visitors to get back to the navigation in the header.

Duplos by Ricardo Mestre

The Duplos site takes a different treatment, putting the main content at the bottom of the page. Navigation takes you further up the page, rather than down.

Grzegorz Kozak

The lighthouse motif here runs the entire length of the page, going from space down to ground level. Banners dangling out of windows on the lighthouse comeback you to the top of the page where the navigation is.

Kaleidoscope

The Kaleidoscope website uses different background pics and textures behind each section of the site. This differentiates each content area from each other content area.

Dan Scotton

Brief pages like this one with minimal content work particularly well. The navigation stays in the sidebar when you scroll down the page.

Viktor Shvaiko

This site uses a horizontal slider to flow fresh content, sliding through other content to reach the page you’ve navigated to. The navigation bar stays on top regardless of what page you’re on.

Jon Rundle

Elementary, private profile sites like this one are flawlessly suited to a single-page design. The icons and accent colors add a bit more visual interest to the design, which is otherwise very neutral.

Jason Reed

Using an accordion effect to display fresh content works well when the content isn’t too long. The illustrated header photo and the gray and orange color scheme both make the site stand out.

Tweet CC

Using textures and ordinary illustrations makes the Tweet CC site visually appealing while it’s also kept ordinary with a monochromatic color scheme.

PSD Layout

Sites suggesting straight-forward services can work particularly well in a single-page format. There’s not too much information to suggest and keeping it all on one page makes it effortless for potential customers to quickly find what they need.

Feelwire

The Feelwire site keeps things ordinary, and offers extra information with tooltips. The white background keeps it minimalist and the bold icons add visual interest.

Hot Meteor

The Hot Meteor site uses a typography-focused, gray and crimson design. The header is gooey, keeping the navigation at the top of the page.

Mia Makila

The Mia Makila site is a bit different than most of the other sites included here, using a more traditional 3-column design. JavaScript is used to display artwork in each category.

Costas Theoharis

This site uses an interesting slider effect, with each section (the header, main content, and footer) sliding separately from each other.

Javan Makhmali

The grid design used here isn’t seen very often in single-page designs. But with slew of white space, it works well to include a lot of different content in a very streamlined design.

Team Nomad

The design here is ordinary and straightforward, and the 2-column design works well to fit more content on the page without making it look intense.

Jorge Fino

Jorge Fino’s site puts the concentrate squarely on the designs. Navigation is nonexistent (other than scrolling) and the contact information is included in both the header and the footer.

Moly Yim

Here’s another site with no navigation. It’s kept to a reasonable length, tho’, so it’s not an issue.

Justin Tsang

The navigation here is a bit different. Rather than including buttons that take you back to the top, or navigation on each screen, buttons are included next to each project and content area to go up or down one screen. There’s also a navigation bar at the top to skip to each main section.

Mogulista

Improvised websites are a fine time to use a single-page site. This site uses JavaScript to stream fresh content for each “page” on the site.

Chirag Solanki

Navigation on this site combines both main navigation and links at the end of each section to come back visitors to the top of the page. Illustrated doodles link together each section, providing a sense of continuity to the entire page.

Deluge Studios

The layout of the Deluge Studios site is one of the most unique featured here. Two columns provide five content areas, all linked from the top navigation. Including main content sections in the smaller “sidebar”-style column makes the page significantly shorter.

Stage Five Studio

The Stage Five Studio site is brief, with no navigation. “Read more” links slide out more information about each project, while other content is kept in the “sidebar”.

SmartCube

The SmartCube site uses a gooey header to keep the navigation on the screen at all times. It also uses a combination of 1- and 2-column layouts, depending on the content.

Eclectique Designs

The content sections here are differentiated by unique background textures. Typography pulls everything together via the page, and JavaScript is used to display extra products without taking up more space.

Inwards Secrets to an iPhone App

This is one of the longer single-page websites featured here. It uses a gooey header with navigation to make it effortless to get from one section to any other.

Kill The Spill

Keeping a charity site like this one brief and to the point is almost sure to increase the number of donations coming in. The bold typography, graphic pictures, and inclusion of a donation form at the bottom all work ideally together.

Emily Whitesmith

Here’s another site that starts you out at the bottom of the page. Clicking on the “find out more” link scrolls the page up to a portfolio area. Modal windows there give close-ups of each fabric.

Flyer

App websites are well-suited to single page designs, as they often have limited content and only a screenshot or two for pictures.

Hayley Smith

Here’s another very long page. The navigation repeats at the top of each section, and the logo glides down the page as it scrolls.

Conway Anderson

The Conway Anderson site uses a mix of sliders (for the about and contact info) and modal windows (for the work) to display content. The ordinary, grid-based design and monochromatic color scheme keep things elementary and modern looking.

Daniel Moir

Daniel Moir’s site is ordinary with minimal content and no navigation. The 2-column design organizes the different types of content on the site and keeps it shorter.

Latte Per Day

Pre-launch websites are very well-suited to single page designs, as is shown here. There’s not enough content yet to justify a multi-page site.

The Beehive Market

Here’s another longer single-page site. The bright yellow background and bee illustrations tie the entire site together, and navigation repeats at the top of each section.

Rubidine

The Rubidine site uses a goopy header with a see-through background that blends in with each individual content section.

Jakub Szymanski

This site uses JavaScript to geyser fresh content and to slide down the page. A gooey footer shows up after the home “page” with a “return to top” link.

Tyler Termini

Tyler Termini’s website is brief, with navigation only in the header. Because it’s not a very long page, it’s not truly a problem to have to scroll back to the top (or just scroll through each section without using the navigation at all).

Josh Sender

The grayscale color scheme here looks good. The work displayed goes into utter color when hovered over, and when clicked on a color modal window opens up with a larger version.

Written and compiled exclusively for WDD by Cameron Chapman.

What do you like best about single page websites? Have any favorites that weren’t featured here? Please share in the comments below…,